My situation
All my planned workshops and presentations, which is what I currently make the most money on, have been cancelled for the next couple of months due to the Corona, Covid-19, outbreak. And that sucks. Luckily I’m not responsible for any employees, and my husbands salary is not affected by this, so we will manage. Since I’m self employed and was sick most of last year I also can’t claim any benefits from the government at the moment, even if I get ill. I’ve “used up” my quota for a while. Such is life. Many people have it a lot worse than me at the moment as they stand much more alone in their job insecurity. I hope we will find solutions together and that the government will do enough for those who will struggle, lose their income or go bankrupt.
Supporting arts, culture and small business owners
If you are not affected too much economically by this, I hope you consider more than ever where you chose to spend your money in the time ahead. Small business owners, specialised stores, social entrepreneurs etc will be hit the hardest by this (in addition to travel industry, but so far they are getting help from the government here in Norway at least), and will need all the help they can get. If an event has been cancelled, and you have a stable income ahead, please consider not asking for a refund. If you go shopping online, buy from small businesses. If you can afford it, order food from a local restaurant if you otherwise would have eaten out. Those of us who can should try to do what we can to keep the economy going. You can promote your favourite small businesses in social media, you can buy gift cards for the future when this has stabilised and so on. No one benefits if all small businesses have to shut down.
#ingenrefusjon #norefunds
Collaboration
One of the main reasons humans have ended up dominating this planet over all other species is our ability to collaborate. The fact that we can imagine and visualize and see the big picture, and act accordingly. This is what has gotten us this far, and it is what can help us through this. We are a species built on a foundation of massive, large scale collaborations. Let us keep doing what we do best.
I hope that something good can come out of the ashes of this.
We (most of us reading my blog post at least) are already fighting to combat climate change, and, I hope, and think, that this pandemic can be a pivot point. I hope that more people will realise what truly matters. Health and safety for ourselves and the people around us. I hope we will see, and learn, how much can be achieved in communal efforts, and that we will learn through this experience how important it is to work together, not just locally, but globally, to create lasting change.
It is sad that it takes a pandemic affecting the rich and powerful to get us to take necessary measures to protect us, but maybe it’ll be a wake up call and set a precedence for action we need to take in other issues we are facing.
Working in the textile industry I have been really upset at for example the fact that we get concerned about toxic chemicals the moment traces above an accepted threshold are found in our clothes here. That’s when we start implementing stricter rules and regulations. The fact that these chemicals were harming the people working in production doesn’t seem to bother or even enter the consciousness of most of us. We only worry when it concerns us. And it sickens me. But as this is the case, who knows, maybe this pandemic, because it affects even the “white and wealthy” will be the start of more active global measures. Maybe we will start understanding that it is even in our best interest to prevent climate change, even though it is affecting the poor long before it hurts us.
My hopes
Maybe we will focus more on local production and measures, even if it costs more, because we worry about future supply internationally, and this can cut emissions. Maybe we will see that poverty makes disease spread faster, and put in measures to lift nations out of it. Maybe we will stop exploiting foreign labour to the extent we do now. Maybe we will see more people pushing for less meat consumption as so many diseases spring out of the meat industry. Maybe we will get some much needed time to reflect on what truly matters to us, and chose to spend more time and energy on our passions, on people, on relations, and less on consumption. The consumption carousel has forcibly slowed down. What will we discover when we stop spinning so fast?
I hope we will see more action, and less debates, and that maybe the strong, whether nations or people, more willingly will carry the weak.
Maybe now, more than ever before, we will realise that we are in fact a global community and humanity will do better as a whole if we look after each other. That this life we are in is a shared journey, not a race.
Maybe, just maybe, we’ll manage to visibly mend this situation, so the future will be better than if it hadn’t happened, despite the loss, because we will do what it takes to strengthen and re-inforce our way of living, for the betterment of everyone.
